Dragon Quest
by WolfmoonWarrior28
Summary: What if Cynder wasn't the only black dragon? Caligo, a young dragoness of the lost shadow element, is thrust into the world of trolls, regenerative crystals, and an evil dragon overlord. She and her best friend must travel the world, meeting the famous Spyro and Cynder couple on their journey to defeat the evil Lord Malefor and save the world.
1. Introduction: Under Attack

**A/N:** hi guys! I'm back from my writing break for a second just to drop this little story off and try to sate your insatiable appetite. Not sure what I'll do with this, but I plan to make it a sort of short story/small book (5-15 small chapters, much shorter than Angel of Darkness). Review, and I may speed it up for you guys (it may be 1-2 weeks between chapters, depending on homework, projects, and ideas, but can shorten to around 5 days to a week. Maybe. Probably not, though.)

So I leave you with this little tidbit. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Legend of Spyro series (mostly centered around Dawn of the Dragons), though I wish I did D:

OH

Also, do you guys notice how much I like to create my own characters instead of focusing the stories on the real main characters? Yeah, I always feel like I'm going to butcher them or something… plus I really love making and defining my own characters. It brings out my creativity and challenges my brain to make stuff up.

BACK TO DA STOREH.

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Caligo sniffed the air. _Grublins_, she thought in disgust. The insect-like creatures were buzzing towards the forest, clubs swinging in excitement. What did they want now?

The Grublins have been visiting her village each month, sometimes to demand payment for protection from Lord Malefor, sometimes just to torment the citizens. Caligo knew it was all her fault. She was their target.

Caligo was the only black dragon her village knew existed, and they were well informed on their trips into Warfang. In effect, the Grublins, as well as other common forest monsters, found it their duty to push her and her village around. She hated them.

A dark green dragon paced up behind Caligo. "Are they back?" he grunted.

She nodded. "Those dumb stick-swinging bugs will be here in less than 10 minutes. You should go tell the elders, Fel"

Fel shook his head. "Nah, Cal. We'll go together."

Caligo stared at him, her violet eyes boring into his. "Fel…"

His gray eyes stared right back with stubbornness evident. "All or nothing," he said firmly.

She sighed. "Fine," she finally said. "You tell Lapis and Fax. I'll tell Ardor and Crystallos."

He rolled his eyes in mock sourness. "Oh sure, give me the hard ones."

Caligo lightly slapped him with her scimitar-like bladed tail. "One's your mother and the other's a soft-heart once you get to know him."

"Still…"

"You're impossible!"

Fel gave her a sharp-toothed grin before trotting off to the Elders' Dwelling. Caligo followed with a roll of her eyes.

Once they reached the Dwelling, Caligo stared up at it in amazement. It was a massive cave, a thick curtain of lichen and moss covering the entrance to keep the cold out. A few good-sized holes let in sunlight and the moon's glow, though usually covered when rain's on the way. Outside the cave was a sign that read, "ELDERS' DWELLING – ENTER AT OWN RISK." It was a long-running joke between the eldest—Fax—and some of the youngest dragons. One small lightning dragon and his friends had stumbled into the cave while exploring the village, upsetting the elder and causing him to blow heavy smoke into the youngster's face. He ended up having to see the healer, but he would always return with some food he caught to present to Fax. They would share stories of new and old adventures long into the day until his mother would call him back. They were real friends.

Caligo hoped that he was in a friendly mood today.

Once the two dragons nosed aside the curtain and bounded inside, three of the four elders jolted to attention. They must have sensed their fear and awoke.

Caligo spoke first. "Ardor, where's Crystallos?"

The gentle fire dragon blinked his warm yellow eyes. "I believe she went out to see the healer. Her joints have been aching since winter is fast approaching, and she can barely stretch her wings."

Fel cursed; Fax whacked the green dragon with his heavily spiked tail. "Watch your mouth, impudent dragonling," Fax growled. Fel quickly apologized, shooting a glare at Caligo, who shrugged.

"Mother, Fax, I need to speak with you," Fel said, glancing at the delicate gray-brown dragoness in the dark corner of the cave. She nodded and pulled herself over to the grumpy dragon. Fel tried not to gawk at Fax's snaggletooth as he began to explain the situation.

Caligo asked Ardor to follow her to the healer. He complied stiffly. Obviously, Crystallos wasn't the only one affected by the coming cold. She tried to hurry him as fast as possible without hurting him, and they reached the healer's home in 2 minutes. Turning to Ardor, she quickly declared, "The Grublins are returning. They will be here in minutes. They may be traveling with more, including Wyverns and possibly some Orcs."

Ardor set his jaw, glancing to the heavens gravely. "Oh dear. Has it been half a year already?" He turned his gaze over to the horizon, where a cloud of Chief Grublins was becoming visible. "We must round up the warriors and hide the mothers and young ones," he said after a moment of silence. "Including you and Fel."

Caligo made a noise of protest. "But Ardor, I want to fight those vile creatures!"

He glared at her with an uncharacteristic amount of anger. "No, Caligo. You must stay out of sight. Protect the others."

She dropped her gaze and watched a ladybug crawl in the grass at her claws. Ardor sighed. "I'm sorry, Caligo. When you're older, you may go into battle with the warriors," he promised, "but until then you must stay in the village."

"Ok…" she mumbled, turning to the large hill beside her.

A stone frame held open a tall rectangular hole dug deeply into the hillside. Caligo raced into the long corridor, lit only by the soft smoldering blaze of fiery torches, until she reached the main room where patients would wait for the healer to help them. A curtain of moss separated the room with the healing chamber beyond.

The young black dragon heard the murmur of voices in the healing chamber. One was the distinct musical voice of the healer. The other was the high creaky tinkling of Crystallos. She took a breath, hating to be rude, and peeked inside.

"Caligo?" the medella dragoness, Sana, said with surprise. Her pure milk white body glowed with a comforting light in the semidark. The blood red of her eyes and wing membranes seemed to blend in with the shadows, and her single black horn was invisible. "I'm with a patient, dear. Can it wait?" Sana asked quietly.

Caligo dipped her head in respect. "I'm sorry, Sana Medella," she said, using the proper title of the healer. "I must speak with Crystallos. It's urgent."

Sana twitched her wings in thought. "Alright. But only for a minute. I may have a possible treatment for her aches."

Caligo nodded, guiding the old ice dragoness to the waiting room. Once inside, she told Crystallos what was happening. When she finished, Crystallos widened her clear sky blue eyes. "What?" she exclaimed in agitation. The pale elder lowered her head, pondering her next actions. "Did you warn the others?"

"I spoke to Ardor. Fel is informing Fax and Lapis."

"Good," Crystallos said with a tiny encouraging smile. "I assume you want to join the fight against the creatures, correct?"

Caligo nodded shyly.

"And that you were told not to?" she added.

Another nod.

"Do I have to worry about you charging bravely into battle with that troublemaker Fel?"

"No, ma'am."

Crystallos's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Good. Now, you must help the others find the warriors and inform them of the predicament."

"Yes, Crystallos." Caligo dipped her head, turned to the tunnel, and ran all the way out.


	2. Introduction: Family

**A/N: **Omg guys, I am so, so, _so__ sorry_ for the _huge_ delay in uploading this chapter! I actually wrote chapter two and some of chapter three before my expensive Lexar flash drive I've had only since Christmas crashed, and I lost most of my files on it! So, not only did I lose much of my valued pictures and stories, I had to completely rewrite this chapter. I would've written it sooner, but I got lazy and some other stuff got in the way...

Again, _I'm so sorry for this_. For now, enjoy this little tidbit I whipped up for you as I try to fix the third chapter and do what I've been waiting to do.

**Disclaimer:** I (sadly) do not own the Legend of Spyro or anything associated with it

* * *

The small black dragoness took a deep breath before stepping into the weak winter light streaming delicately into the clearing. A large blue-green dragoness lifted her head sleepily as the smaller one approached. Her jaws parted in a yawn, showing a mouthful of razor-sharp white teeth. "Hello there, dear one," she murmured, unfurling her enormous leathery wings in a stretch. "How are you?"

Caligo shivered. "Grublins are here. They'll be at the grove any minute."

The dragoness's indigo eyes flashed with anger. However, it was replaced with calm as her mind worked out a plan. "Have you informed the elders?"

Caligo responded with a short nod. "Ardor is going to round up the rest of the village, as soon as I told you and returned to help."

"Good." She glanced closely at Caligo with concern. "Are you alright, Cal?" she asked gently.

She didn't reply. Her eyes wandered to the grass where frost formed around the larger dragoness's feet. She must have been more agitated than she let on.

Before she could utter a sound, a voice filled with venom drawled behind Caligo, startling her. "Well, commander Nix, are you going to stand there blathering to this pathetic dragonling or are you going to begin an attack on the intruders like a _real_ leader should?"

Nix cringed slightly as she looked calmly at the speaker. "We should not be so hasty as to attack these creatures immediately, Vitis," she said.

Caligo turned to see a slender green dragoness with hard brown eyes glaring down at her. Vitis held so much hot contempt in her eyes she wondered why she hadn't burst into flames yet—or why the earth hadn't swallowed her, considering the dragoness's powers.

Vitis sniffed. "I don't see why not. They come and torture us all for the sake of harboring _her_. We should punish them."

Caligo could tell that it took a lot of self-control for Nix not to chastise Vitis in front of her. An icy cloud puffed from her nose in her effort to seem unruffled. "I'm sorry, Vitis, but that is not the best way to handle this. I appreciate your suggestions, though I make the final decision." She closed her eyes. "Now, search for Calx and Aesta, please, and gather them here so we can confront the Grublins."

Vitis bowed her head mockingly. "Of course. As you wish, commander Nix," she growled. Then, with a final scorching glare at Caligo, she turned and launched herself into the sky, wings beating furiously.

Nix sighed, then turned to the clearing and barked, "Chrysos, Aurem!"

Two sleepy yellow heads rose to attention. Caligo always liked the twin lightning dragons. She especially liked how Chrysos's scales glittered gold and his eyes were an electric blue, and the way Aurem tried to get everyone around him to laugh. They were a perfect pair to complement each other.

"The enemy is fast approaching, and we must confront them immediately," she began brusquely. "Find Vitis, Aesta, and Calx and meet me at the cliff face."

The twins nodded in unison and chanted, "Yes, commander Nix," before flying off in the direction the earth dragoness traveled.

As soon as they were out of sight, Nix relaxed. "That one is trouble," she muttered to herself.

"Why does she hate us?" Caligo asked. She was pretty sure why, but she needed to know for sure what Nix thought.

Nix looked at her sadly. "Oh, Caligo… She is just filled with resentment and doesn't know how to control it. Vitis was jealous that I achieved the position of commander and appointed Aesta as my lieutenant, even though she was older, more experienced, and showed more ambition for the title. The elders feared she had too much ambition, however, and that she showed little forethought and empathy."

"So why does she hate me so much?"

"Vitis thought you put the village in danger long before the attacks began. Once they started, she felt that it proved her point and hoped it would gain her a higher rank in the warriors. But it didn't." Nix's dark eyes softened. "She is also a barren dragoness, cursed to never bear a child of her own. When I adopted you, she saw the life she wanted stolen from her and given to me."

Caligo dropped her gaze. "Oh," she said quietly. "I had no idea."

"It's okay, Caligo." Nix nuzzled her head. The smaller dragoness shuddered as Nix's icy breath caressed the back of her neck. It was strangely comforting. "It's not your responsibility. She was hit hard by bad luck. Nobody blames you."

_No one but Vitis and myself,_ she thought with frustration. Why did she have to show up here, in this peaceful forest with a nice village? Her existence here brought nothing but trouble. Vitis was probably right to hate her.

"I'm sure that she'll warm up to you in time. She's just as stubborn as her element.," Nix said. Frowning at Caligo's scowl, she added softly, "Your mother gave you to us for a reason."

Caligo immediately shut her eyes, savoring the few memories she had of her mother and that night: a dark, moonless sky lit only by a few dozen stars; thick mist shrouding the black figure looming before her; a monstrous roar punctuated with rage far off into the distance; a palpable feeling of panic emanating from a pair of pale yellow eyes staring down at her; two young blue dragons gasping and rushing to her side, wonder and slight fear in their visages. Caligo wasn't sure what any of it meant. She thought her mother might have given her up in order to save her from something, according to her memories. But what?

She was interrupted by another voice yelling at her. "Hey, Caligo! I've been looking everywhere for you! Most of the village is already gathered at the cave," Fel said breathlessly. His dark splotchy scales glistened with sweat.

"You'd better go," Nix chuckled quietly. "Don't worry, Caligo. We'll take care of the army."

Caligo sighed. "Be safe, mother," she said, nuzzling the larger dragoness.

"I will," Nix promised. Though as she turned, Caligo swore she saw a pinprick of doubt shadow Nix's eyes. The thought quickly disappeared, however, while she followed her best friend back to the Elders' cave. Her mother would never leave her.


	3. The Newcomer

**A/N:** Hey guys! What's up? I hope you're doing great, cuz IT'S FREAKING STORMING LIKE ARMAGEDDON HERE.

*cough* sorry. But seriously, it's raining, flashing lightning, booming thunder, and there're severe thunderstorm/tornado warnings till around midnight or two. And I have school tomorrow...

So, I finished this chapter while holed up in the basement waiting for the all clear to emerge from the dark pits of my sister's room. Enjoy! (you'd better 8U)  
Read and Review, por favor!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Legend of Spyro series. Sierra (and a bit of Nintendo) does, those lucky dogs…

* * *

Fel turned to Caligo once Nix was out of sight. His gray eyes glinted with mischief. "We should follow the warriors and watch the fight," he said excitedly.

"I don't know… we were told explicitly to stay away and go to the cave with the others," Caligo said, nervousness making her voice waver.

Fel rolled his eyes. "Come on, Cal. When else will we be able to see this? There're never any battles around here, and they never fight all out in training."

The thought was very tempting for the young dragoness. She _did_ want to see the warriors fight; she'd always wanted to train, patrol, and hunt with them. Ever since she was a tiny hatchling wandering about the village, she had admired the warriors. Maybe the thought of serving her home would appease the other dragons and banish any doubt against her.

"I guess," she finally said.

"Awesome!" Fel dashed toward the cliff at the edge of the grove. With a little gasp of surprise, she quickly followed him, low-growing spruce branches whipping painfully across her face during her sprint. Even though pine needles carpeting the floor muffled their footsteps and their dark scales blended well in the shadows of the tall trees, they worried that someone would discover them.

Caligo knew that if they were discovered, they would be in severe trouble. They had disobeyed several elders, plus the commander of the warriors and her own mother, and sneaked off to watch a fight with the creatures about to invade their home. They might never allow her to leave the village again.

Soon, after Caligo refused to linger on what she was doing with Fel, they had reached the end of the forest. A large clearing spread out before them. Yellowing grass danced in the wind. A gray sky marked starkly with black clouds expanded coldly over the sudden drop at the far end of the opening. The evergreens thinned out dramatically, only dotting the clearing every once in a while, so there were fewer shadows to hide the two dragons. Fel swore under his breath. "Great. Now how will we see them?" he muttered.

Caligo looked around. She spotted the only tree able to hold their combined weight with enough foliage to conceal them from anyone: the Twisted Oak, a gnarled old tree that almost resembled a dragon's paw reaching from the earth to clutch the skies above, long malformed claws branching out in every direction and even plunging themselves back into the ground. "There!" she beckoned and raced towards the tree. She launched herself up the trunk and scrambled her way to the lowest branch. She heard the scratching of claws against bark and Fel joined her on the limb above.

They did not have to wait long. The sound of heavy wingbeats made them shrink farther in towards the trunk. Three large thumps followed by three smaller thuds told them that the warriors had landed at the cliff face.

"We do not wish to provoke a fight," Nix's voice rang out clearly as she addressed her comrades. "We will settle this as best as we can without the use of our teeth and claws. But, if it comes to it, be prepared. We may have no choice."

Caligo thought she heard the commander's voice crack as she finished her order. Was she really that nervous?

One dragoness cleared her throat, then Aesta's articulated accent resonated in the silence after Nix's speech. "Commander, the Grublins are almost here, and it appears as if they've brought more than just Wyverns."

Fel let out a confused grunt, which turned into a gasp. Caligo followed his gaze outside the cluster of oak leaves to the dark mass of creatures. At first, she saw nothing other than drooling, hairy bugs grasping clubs and wiry, rug-like, limbless dragons; then she caught sight of a small red dragon no older than Fel clad in black-as-night armor. A helmet obscured most of his face, though strange dark purple eyes with blood red rimming the slit pupil stared out menacingly. His forearms, biceps, thighs, and shins were covered with obsidian bracers and greaves. He even had blade attachments on the edge of his wings and the fins on the end of his tail.

When he landed, Grublins and Wyverns surrounding him in a protective semicircle, Caligo could get a better look at him. His scales were a dull dark red. Fins sliced down his back from his crown to the middle of his tail. Cracked and chipped copper-gold horns curled from his small skull towards his neck. Despite his scrawny body, he held himself with a dangerous artifice. Waves of fear seemed to roll off of him so that Caligo want to cringe and curl up in a tight ball to escape the panic that washed over her. The warriors appeared to feel the same.

After a few moments of deafening silence, the newcomer spoke. "Greetings, warriors of Novus Grove. My name is Styx. I'm sure that you all know why we have decided to grace you with our presence. We hope that you will offer little resistance, and in return, we will leave your village peacefully." His voice was not quite deep, betraying his young age, yet it creaked as if it was not used in a long time. It was an interesting contrast to his barbaric appearance.

Nix stepped forward to reply. "We apologize, young Styx, but why have you been sent along with the usual army?"

Styx cocked his head curiously. "You are the one called Nix, right? Commander of this ragtag team?" After a puzzled nod from Nix, he continued. "Lord Malefor has sent me to make sure that these simpletons follow his orders directly. They have not been doing their job properly since they received the order."

Vitis rolled her eyes impatiently. "What orders would they be, dragonling? And why would the Mighty One send a runt like you to keep them in check?"

The warriors shifted nervously when Nix shot her a warning look. Vitis kept her head high, undeterred. Nix sighed.

Styx seemed unfazed by Vitis's rudeness, however. He responded calmly with only a single twitch of his eye. "Simply to bring the one who is unlike the rest back to Lord Malefor, of course."

"I knew it!" Vitis shouted triumphantly. "We should hand the brat over immediately. She has been causing trouble for us for far too long."

Anger crept into Nix's normally calm countenance. "Vitis, may I speak to you in private?" She gave an embarrassed nod to Styx before leading the spiteful dragoness away. Unfortunately, she stopped just outside of Caligo's hearing range. The only thing that told her what was happening was Vitis's face darkening in rage and Nix's tense body. Vitis's head bowed and the two dragonesses stalked back to the cliff.

"I deeply apologize for the impudence of my warrior. As for your order, I cannot allow you to take the dragonling," Nix said with a hint of a growl in her tone.

"I understand perfectly, commander," Styx said.

"You do?" Nix stammered, baffled by his response.

He nodded. "However, I cannot ignore an order given by the great purple dragon himself, as you must understand. If you do not comply, I have full permission to use any force necessary to bring him back his prize."

Caligo shivered. Despite the dragon's unintimidating physique, she believed he could and would go through with the threat. Somehow, even Styx's mere presence cast a strange spell over the cliff face. Glancing at him made Caligo feel like a hatchling again, afraid and alone among others that were unsure of her.

Nix recovered from the threat quickly. "I must ask you to leave. Use whatever force you wish, but we will never give up one of our own," she said firmly. Her eyes hardened with determination.

Moments passed. The tension was palpable. A streak of lightning flashed blindingly across the darkening sky followed by an earth-shaking boom. It was as if the sky itself was siding with the commander. Finally, Styx nodded stiffly.

"As you wish, commander Nix," he said, bowing slightly and turning back to the cliff. "However," he added, his back to the warriors, "I will be back, and when I return, there will be no warnings. We will storm your puny village. We will show no mercy. And we will have that dragon." With that, he hissed a retreat to his army and leapt into the sky, the black clouds bursting at last and pelting the clearing with icy raindrops as the creatures sped away.

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**A/N:** If you've read this far, I love you guys :D please support my fractured ego with the magic duck tape of reviews. Sorry. It really does make my day.

Your bestest fran,

WolfmoonWarrior28


	4. Punishment

**A/N:** Hey guysssss. I have been terribly sick yesterday and today, so since I took off a day from school, I could finish this chapter for you. I apologize if the quality decreased any, especially towards the end (since I took some meds that'll make me sleepy), but I tried!

Oh! Hey! So, I'm curious; how old do you guys think I am based on my writing? I really wanna know :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Legend of Spyro or anything related to it. I do own the villagers of Novus Grove, Styx, Fel, and Caligo

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As soon as they were out of sight, it was like a great weight was lifted from the whole clearing. The warriors relaxed; each seemed ready to collapse on the spot from exhaustion and shock. Caligo herself wanted to melt into the cold, dripping shade of the tree she perched in and sleep. For some strange reason, the interaction with that small red dragon was draining even to Caligo. Her thoughts wandered to what Styx had said again: Was she the one Malefor was after? How did he find out where she was? And why did he want her?

Fel interrupted her with a cough. "Well that was interesting."

Caligo jumped. "Um, yeah. Interesting."

Fel gave her a concerned look before carefully picking his way down the slick tree trunk. When she didn't follow, he said, "You coming?"

She blinked. "Sorry. Of course." She leaped down to the wet ground with a grunt. "It's just…"

"A lot to process," Fel finished. "I get it."

Caligo smiled. "We should probably get back to the cave before they notice we're gone."

"Yeah, I don't want grumpy old Fax to turn us into smoking craters later," Fel laughed.

Chuckling quietly, the two ran as quickly as they could back to the Elders' Dwelling, avoiding the returning warriors by a wide berth. The cold rain pelted them mercilessly. The ground was marshy and their feet sank into the mud after each step. Once they reached the cave safely, they checked if anyone saw them and ducked inside.

Too late, they realized, as a wave of blistering heat washed over them that dried them instantly, followed by a growl. "What were you dragonlings doing out there?" Fax snarled.

Caligo cowered, but Fel puffed out his roughly plated chest bravely. "We wanted to see how the warriors would handle the attack this time," he said evenly.

Fax narrowed his eyes. "Do you know how dangerous that was? You were told to stay here, and you blatantly disobeyed your elders."

Fel wavered. Caligo wanted nothing more than for a hole to open up in the ground and swallow her whole. It would be much better than enduring the chastisement from her village.

"Enough, Fax," Ardor broke in. His calm demeanor was nearly gone, replaced by a hot anger. "Caligo, Fel, I am very disappointed in you both."

If it were possible for her to feel any more shame and embarrassment she would have imploded. "I'm sorry Ardor," she said quietly.

Fel said quickly, "It wasn't Caligo's fault, Ardor. I goaded her into coming with me."

Caligo shot Fel a surprised yet grateful look. "I understand your argument," Ardor interjected, "but young Caligo was still apart of it. She chose to follow you in the end. She will not be able to avoid punishment." He sighed, suddenly looking a hundred years older.

"However, that will have to wait," a tired voice interrupted quietly.

Caligo lifted her eyes to the speaker with confusion. Nix padded softly into the cave with the other warriors landing just behind her, splashing in the mud and shaking their glistening scales clean. She stretched her dark wings. Rivulets of rainwater glided down the leathery surface, dripping loudly to the stone floor. Each warrior then stepped into the cave with grave faces, Vitis's a scowling mask of pure fury directed at Caligo.

"We have regretful news-" Nix began.

"That blasted purple dragon has ordered a full attack on our village!" Vitis announced over Nix.

The villagers instantly broke out into worried murmurs. Mothers pulled their dragonlings close with loud wails of fear, and some adult males shouted their anger and cursed Malefor. Chaotic noise echoed along the smooth cave walls, amplifying the sound and making Caligo think she was going to be deaf.

Nix tried to raise her voice above the crowd to calm them down, but none would listen. Suddenly, a terrible roar boomed, "SILENCE." The village went quiet.

Caligo looked in surprise at Ardor, who had ordered the quiet. His eyes smoldered a scorching gold. After a few moments, his face fell, ferocity replaced by weariness. "Continue, Commander Nix," he murmured.

She gave him a respectful nod and explained the arrival of Styx and his orders from Malefor. Shocked gasps greeted the news. Even Caligo felt stunned by the retelling of her experience.

When Nix finished, Ardor bowed his head somberly. "I see. This is troubling news indeed."

Fax huffed. "'Troubling' hardly covers it," he muttered.

"If the purple master wants Caligo, we cannot hand her over," Ardor concluded with finality.

"What?!" Vitis screeched. "That vile dragonling has brought us nothing but trouble! Malefor is even willing to completely destroy our village and slaughter our people all for her! We should just throw her out of the grove for his creatures to find and take her back!"

Little grumbles of agreement rose from the village. They were drowned out by shouts of outrage, though, as most of the village argued amongst each other. With horror, Caligo realized that many of the village sided with Vitis in exiling her.

Nix and Ardor bent their heads together in discussion, quietly murmuring the final decision as the arguments continued. Caligo prayed to the heavens that they would not exile her. This was the only life that she knew. If they took that away from her, she just might go mad.

Finally, with a glance from Ardor, Fax bellowed for silence. Once the village had quieted, Ardor spoke. "We have come to an agreement."

Caligo tensed her muscles in anticipation until she could barely feel them. _Please don't let them kick me out. Please don't give me to Malefor._ She chanted those thoughts over and over as she waited for the elder to resume.

"Caligo will not be given to Lord Malefor, but she cannot stay here with the village," he said.

The ground seemed to fall from under Caligo's feet at those words. She was dimly aware of the thunderous replies from the village. She was going to leave the village? Her only home?

Nix shouted while she waited for the noise to die down, "Caligo will be taken to a safe haven. Once they find out she's not in the village, they will leave us in peace." Her confidence spread over the crowd until they calmed down.

Ardor stepped forward. "For now, everyone will return to their normal duties. There will be no discussion of this from now on."

The villagers muttered to each other and filed out of the cave, discontent obvious in each of them. Caligo watched them leave numbly.

The cave was empty, other than a dazed Fel, two drained dragons, and Caligo. A blinding flash of lightning split the sky into fractures, followed almost lazily by a crack of thunder. The last of the dragons stared at each other for what felt like hours. Then Nix broke the quiet. "You two should rest. You look asleep on your paws."

Caligo was about to protest, but as soon as she opened her mouth, it stretched involuntarily into a huge yawn. "Fine," she mumbled as she nudged Fel into a shallow dip in the cave floor. There, Caligo collapsed into a pathetic heap of black scales, totally exhausted, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

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**A/N:** sorry to leave you guys with this, I'm so tired. I barely got any sleep last night, plus my head's all fuzzy, so imma take a nap.

Adios!

WolfmoonWarrior28


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